Bright Eyes: Lifted, or: The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) has made a concept album, taking the 1980s film favourite The NeverEnding Story as his inspiration. Wisely swapping Limahl's nasal whine for Johnny Ray's impassioned tears, 22-year-old Oberst leads us through a fairy tale of love and sex. His trembling voice becomes a painful howl on The Big Picture, but when Oberst calms down, his lyrics crackle with a knowing humour. False Advertising has him attempting to reconcile art with commerce. "Now all that anyone is listening for are the mistakes," he says before the fragile, swaying melody stops and trumpet player Orenda Fink apologises for just such a mistake. Bowl of Oranges is optimistic, if wordy, acoustic guitar pop. Best of all is Lover I Don't Have to Love, a hymn to the humble groupie. "The phone's ringing and the van's leaving," Oberst urges, involving us in his weird but wonderful world, "let's just keep touching, let's just keep singing."